The popularity and case of use of digital cameras is contributing to the creation of large collections of digital images. The great majority, if not all, of modem digital cameras embed a header of information within a captured digital image. The header of information often includes (but is not limited to) a creation time, creation date, camera make and model, image width and height, exposure information (e.g., flash on/off, aperture value, exposure time), focus time, focus distance, focal length, etc. That information will be referred to throughout this application as “header information.”
Collections of digital images increase the need for GUIs that enable a user to efficiently browse and manipulate those images. Some current GUIs group digital images within a hierarchical framework similar to, or even directly based upon, a multi-level file system. Typically, within each folder of the file system, the digital images may be viewed as “thumbnails,” and possibly sorted by file attributes or embedded header information (e.g., date taken, size, name). A “thumbnail” as described herein is a small graphical representation of a larger image.